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Phase II – The KRLA Jingles | July 28, 1972

All we have is some brief liner notes on the case of this Maxell UR-60 casette to describe what apparently was actually broadcast on KRLA Pasadena.

The actual title is, “Touch Unlimited presents, PHASE II, the most unique station promos in the history of radio”. The credits for this are Bob Todd, Don McGinnis and Shadoe Stevens. The second half of this which is pure jingles which we put into a montage, apparently feature the ‘distinctive voice of Kenny Loggins’.

Webmaster’s note:

I frankly have no idea where this came from but it sure is unique. Longtime listeners to Pittsburgh’s KDKA will notice the similarity, apparently this is from the exact same package. So, my guess is the KDKA package was based on this KRLA demo, not the other way around. Someone out there knows.

This tape was a bit worn and muffled, but its amazing what a new sound processor/device can do. Our new sound card is a USB external card, although ‘soundcard’ really doesn’t describe the incredible sound quality you’ll hear in future exhibits from this AKAI EIE ‘ElectroMusic Interface Expander’. Its amazing what necessity brings. But we were cheated… the box said the device came with a copy of Pro Tools. Nope. Instead it was Cubase 5. And man, have I got a learning curve ahead of me.

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3 Comments

calradiopd October 8, 2013, 3:27 pm

This is from when Shadoe Stevens took over as Program Director at KRLA and went to an album-oriented format.

In context, it was an enormous rip-off, much of the music (Walter Carlos and others) being taken wholesale from Ron Jacobs’ far more original and inventive “KGB Recycle Documentary” almost four months earlier.

As talented as Shadoe is, this was him at his most self-indulgent. And when KRLA crashed (2.5 to a 1.4…13th place to 23rd) and the plug was pulled after 7 months, Shadoe plagiarized himself, using a lot of the same attitude and approach when he got the reins at KROQ in fall ’73.

Gee, sure would like who this anonymous “radiopd” is. This hack sadly does not get it. The historical significance of this landmark part of radio history should not be reinterpreted by a backbencher wannabe. First, I listened to both the KGB recycle show and Phase Two, live and in real time when they originally aired. Keep in mind, KGB only decided to flip to a progressive format because of the success of Shadoe’s KRLA which launched six months earlier in September, 1971. Its huge and immediate success made KGB take the plunge and abandon Top forty leaving San Diego as a one Top forty station town. The KGB’s thirty-three minute Recycle show was a masterpiece, but calling Phase Two a ripoff because it also used stuff from the Clockwork Orange soundtrack is weak. Phase Two was all about a new set of inventive, ambitious, game-changing musical station IDs that Shadoe hand made and which he unveiled all at once. It was sort of reset/recommitment event. The Recycle tape documented the arrival of a completely new station. It had nothing to do with new jingles. This anonymous “PD” neglects to point out that this Phase Two era happened just as KMET, KROQ/KPPC and KLOS all started to come into full bloom as real options to AM radio. Of course KRLA 1110 could not thrive just as these three L.A. stations were picking up steam. I wished I knew this Airchexx archive was out there before now.

Paul Flores, you couldn’t have said it better. When Shadoe took this concept to FM (KROQ and KMET), both stations achieved top ratings in the nation’s second biggest market. I know because I was there (Full disclosure – Shadoe has been my friend for more than 40 years, and we worked together at KROQ and KMET).